It seems like everyone is striving for that 'lit from within' glow, but what's the secret? Facialist Julia Hart shares everything you need to know to transform dull-looking skin.
🕒 4 min read
What is dull skin?
Bright skin appears radiant, glowing, and healthy. It can be characterised by a lack of dullness, dark spots, or uneven texture, and is usually associated with good skincare habits, a healthy lifestyle, and proper hydration.
Dull skin, on the other hand, may appear lacklustre, tired, or uneven in tone and texture. It can be caused by factors such as dehydration, a lack (or even excess) of exfoliation, and poor circulation. Sun damage can also contribute to a loss of radiance in the skin, along with the formation of hyperpigmentation.
Another major cause is falling oestrogen levels (primarily around menopause).
Thankfully, there are ways to support the skin from the inside and on the outside in order to combat these changes, and ensure skin maintains a healthy glow.
Oestrogen and skin's radiance
Oestrogen is important for skin's firmness, brightness, and hydration. When levels fall during menopause, it can lead to dryness and dullness in the skin, which is in turn compounded by a slowed rate of cell turnover and a build-up of dead cells.
Falling oestrogen levels also mean lower levels of collagen.
What is collagen?
Collagen is the main structural protein found in almost every tissue of your body: bones, eyeballs, skin… you name it! It keeps your skin stuck to your body, keeps your joints and tendons flexible, plays a big part in healing wounds and is probably best known for keeping our skin looking youthful and healthy, which includes that bright, lit-from-within glow.
Unfortunately, we start to lose around 1 per cent of our collagen each year from our late 20s, but the most profound hormonal changes (around menopause) can lead to a more sudden decrease, resulting in duller, less elastic skin, thinner hair, and brittle nails.
Fortunately, we can nurture our skin's collagen levels through skincare as well as supplements.
Collagen is made up of amino acids wound tightly together, one of which is hydroxyproline: an amino acid found in few proteins other than collagen.
Hydroxyproline has been found to survive digestion and can activate collagen synthesis. This is important for those who want to increase their levels as they get older, and means that it can be effective as a supplement.
Hydroxyproline also stimulates fillagrin production (which is fundamental to the development and maintenance of the skin barrier) and can increase levels of ceramides, which help skin barrier function and water loss.
How to brighten skin
Building an effective, daily skincare routine is essential for a healthy glow, as is feeding and supporting skin from the inside, as skin cells rely on a balanced supply of nutrients to grow, strengthen, and fight free radical damage.
I recommend Healthspan's Collagen Glow drink to support the skin's radiance, alongside a topical routine that includes Healthspan's Vitamin C range and the Replenish Collagen Boosting Serum. Together, these products provide the perfect balance of brighteners and powerful peptides, to deliver results without drying the skin.
Broadly, the ingredients to look for as part of a dull skin treatment to help boost radiance, stimulate collagen and brighten pigmentation are:
- Vitamin C to brighten and stimulate collagen production (vitamin C also helps slow down collagen loss)
- Peptides (chemical messengers) like Matrixyl and Ronacare
- Vitamins A and E
- Niacinamide
Collagen GLOW
For radiant skin, beautiful hair and strong nails
- 5000mg type I and type III marine collagen
- Tasty tropical collagen drink
- Simply squeeze into water, stir and enjoy!
The gut-skin axis
Improving gut health through a balanced diet, probiotics, collagen (which is vital for maintaining the health of the gut lining) and other lifestyle factors is part of my holistic approach to getting brighter skin.
Research into the gut-skin axis has shown that imbalances in the gut microbiome can lead to skin issues such as acne, psoriasis, and other skin conditions. In particular, deficiencies of certain nutrients such as vitamin A, B complex and essential fatty acids can also show in the skin as eczema.
Summary: how to brighten skin naturally
For any of my clients asking how to brighten dull skin, I always recommend treating skin with topicals containing vitamins C and E, as well as retinol, from the outside, while supporting healthy ageing from the inside with a collagen supplement (alongside a well-rounded diet that includes all vitamins and minerals.)
This routine supports the skin's collagen production, hydration and repair, which are all essential elements for skin brightening at any age.